Team Philippines for WCOPA 2008 bared

Carlo Orosa and Oliver Oliveros, Philippine directors of the World Championships of Performing Arts recently revealed the performers that would represent the Philippines to this year’s “Hollywood Olympics,” which will be held at the Universal CityWalk, Hollywood and Westin Bonaventure, Los Angeles on July 19 to 27. 

The Philippines will be sending an “all-vocalists” team this year with eight junior contestants (age 15 and below), and seven senior contestants (age 16 and above).

The junior contestants are Catherine Loria, a singer from Tiaong, Quezon; Cherry Palad, a Trumpets Playshop alumna; Glee Nette Gaddi, the Department of Tourism’s delegate to the 2007 Korea Travel Fair in Seoul; Rachel Razon, a Fil Am pop and R&B vocalist; Marek, Enzo, and Ruiz Sison, musical theater actors seen in the local production of Off Broadway hit musical “Children’s Letters to God;” and Tippy dos Santos, Belle in Ateneo Children’s Theater’s production of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.”

Meanwhile, the senior contestants include CJ Concepcion, a singing nurse from Manila; Dex de Rosa, Thuy in the Australian production of Cameron Mackintosh’s “Miss Saigon;” Abe Dorado, a Filipina singer based in Milan, Italy; King, a Star Records’ recording artist; Marielle Corpuz, a singer from Nueva Ecija; Panky Trinidad, a scholar in ABS CBN’s “Pinoy Dream Academy” Season One; and Paolo Ledesma, 3rd Avenue band’s lead vocalist.

These contestants were among around 75,000 performers (singers, dancers, models, actors, etc.) who auditioned globally for this year’s WCOPA.

Now on its 12th year, WCOPA is an international talent search run and judged by powerful agents and producers from Hollywood and Broadway. Aside from the “X” factor, judges strongly consider the marketability of the contestants. WCOPA gathers top performers from 40 countries every year.

Aside from singing, the other categories in WCOPA are dance, modeling, instruments, variety (jugglers, magicians, etc.) and acting.

For the singing category, each contestant can only sing his/her piece for 60 seconds. Twenty-five percent from the total score will be deducted if he/she exceeds the time limit.

There are four rounds of competition. Round One is when contestants compete in their respective age brackets. Winners in round one will compete in Round Two with those in other age brackets. The grand finalists are chosen in Round Three.

Four or five grand finalists compete in each category during the Final Round. The Grand Champions of the World are chosen according to their respective categories.

Four Filipino delegates won the “Grand Champion Vocalist of the World” title in the last three years, including Jed Madela in 2005, The Cercado Sisters in 2006, and Reymond Sajor and Aria Clemente in 2007.

Also in the Final Round, only two will be chosen as Over-All Grand Champions of the World, one from the junior division and the other from the senior division. Madela and Clemente bagged the “Grand Champion Performer of the World” title in their respective divisions in 2005 and 2007. The two are this year’s guest performers.

The Office of the President, PAGCOR, Outland, The Philippine STAR, STAGES, Essensuals Toni & Guy, Karate Kid, Kiseki, and Teatrino are supporting this year’s Philippine Team for WCOPA.